Smoke forces plane to land in Adelaide - The West Australian

An investigation has been launched after a Qantas flight from Sydney to Perth was forced to make an emergency landing in Adelaide after a warning light indicated smoke in the cargo hold.

A Qantas spokeswoman said engineers had since checked the aircraft and found no signs of smoke.

However, their investigations will continue until they can determine the cause of the emergency warning.

The Airbus A330 was carrying 253 passengers when it diverted to Adelaide Airport and landed without incident.

The A330 carrying 266 people had taken off from Sydney but diverted to Adelaide Airport and landed safely about 12.40pm.

The Central Coast Mariners were among those aboard the plane.

The club posted to its Facebook page this afternoon: "Our team's flight from Sydney to Perth has been diverted to Adelaide due to smoke in the cabin. Everyone is safe & sound in the city of churches, and the latest from Adelaide is that the boys will be back in the air soon!"

Qantas released a statement, saying the plane landed without incident.

"The flight deck received a warning light indicating a technical issue, so as a safety precaution the pilots made the decision to divert to Adelaide," the statement reads.

"The aircraft landed without incident and passengers disembarked via normal procedure through the aerobridge."

Police said the flight had reported a smoke warning light.

It is understood the pilot told passengers on board there was smoke in the cargo area of the plane.

A large contingent of emergency vehicles had gathered at the airport ahead of the plane's safe landing. Photo: 7News.

A large response of emergency vehicles had gathered at the airport anticipating its arrival, but it landed without incident.

An airline spokeswoman said the Mariners, along with some other passengers, boarded an alternative flight to Perth.

Those unable to be accommodated on direct flights from Adelaide may be forced to travel through Melbourne or Sydney.

Qantas said it hoped to have all passengers in Perth by tonight.

One passenger, identified as Dave, said the incident was handled well by the crew.

“Everything went pretty smooth,” he told ABC Radio.

“The pilot said he thought it was just a false alarm but for safety they had to bring the plane back and evacuate everybody.

“The pilot did a great job and the flight attendants did a really good job keeping everybody under control.”